New Hyde Park, NY, (March 22, 2016) Pegalis and Erickson, LLC is delighted to announce that three of our attorneys are being named Outstanding Women in Law 2016 by Hofstra University School of Law’s Center for Children, Families and the Law. Annamarie Bondi-Stoddard, Esq., Rhonda Meyer, Esq., and Linda Oliva, Esq., will receive the honors at the award ceremony to be held on April 5, at 12:00 Noon at the Hofstra University Club in Uniondale, NY. Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas is the expected keynote speaker.

Annamarie Bondi-Stoddard is our managing partner and has 30 years of experience representing plaintiffs in medical negligence cases including women’s health issues, birth injuries, surgical, neurosurgical, cardiac, cancers, and other medical specialty cases where negligence is involved. She is an advocate for patient safety awareness and is devoted to community service for health-related matters, lecturing to both lay audiences and law professionals. Bondi-Stoddard is a two-time recipient of the Long Island Business News Top 50 Business Women, and their ‘Who’s Who in Women in Professional Services. She was awarded the Corporate Leadership Recognition Award from Cerebral Palsy Nassau, and also received the LIBN “50 around 50” Award. Annamarie has been named in each edition of Best Lawyers since 2007, and continues to be voted by her peers into the New York SuperLawyers each year. As managing partner, she has led Pegalis & Erickson, LLC to consistently be recognized by U.S. News and World Report as a New York Tier One Best Law Firm. Bondi-Stoddard servers an n officer on the executive board of directors of the New York State Trial Attorneys (NYSTLA), She is also a Dean of the New York State Trial Lawyers Institute (NYSTLI). She was past president of the Long Island Women’s Agenda (LIWA) and is a supporter of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Movement . She is a member of several bar associations, and obtained her law degree from Boston University School of Law.

Rhonda L. Meyer has 26 years of experience representing medical malpractice plaintiffs. She has worked extensively on cases involving birth injuries resulting from negligent obstetrical and perinatal care. She handles cases for our youngest clients—babies who have severe neurological injuries requiring a lifetime of specialized care. Her work on medical legal cases has resulted in multimillion dollar verdicts and settlements. Ms. Meyer also litigates in cases involving radiation oncology, neonatal medicine, pediatrics, pulmonary medicine, vascular surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, orthopedic surgery, infectious disease, nephrology, neurosurgery, and cancer. In 2015, Ms. Meyer was named a Long Island Top 50 Most Influential Women in Business by the Long Island Business News. In both 2014 and 2015, she was named to the New York Metro Super Lawyers. She is a member of New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Nassau County Bar Association, Nassau County Women’s Bar Association, Nassau Suffolk Trial Lawyers Association, and the Huntington Lawyers Club. Ms. Meyer obtained her law degree from Hofstra University School of Law.

Linda M. Oliva is a plaintiffs’ medical malpractice attorney at Pegalis and Erickson LLC handling all aspects of pretrial litigation and appeals, representing patients in cases of surgical errors, neurosurgical mistakes, questionable cardiac care, and the failure to diagnose and treat breast cancer. She dedicates considerable time to community service, and participates in events as an advocate for patient awareness. She is the President-Elect of the Nassau County Women’s Bar Association. Ms. Oliva is active with both the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition and the Adelphi Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline to support patients. She is a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers’ Association, the American Association for Justice, the Nassau County Bar Association, the Long Island Hispanic Bar Association, and the Columbian Lawyers Association of Nassau County. In 2013, she was named a Long Island’s Top 50 Most Influential Women in Business by the Long Island Business News, and in 2012 she received the Courage Award from the Nassau County Women’s Bar Association. She obtained her law degree at St. John’s University School of Law.

Pe galis & Erickson is a personal injury law firm with a focus on representing seriously injured people that suffered medical negligence. We have won some of the largest verdicts in New York State history for birth trauma, misdiagnosed cancers, and surgical errors, and have obtained justice for serious construction and accident victims. In our forty years of practice, we have helped more than 2,000 people obtain funds for services they need to survive life day-to-day. We are advocates for patient safety and medical accountability to ensure safer medical practices for better patient care. Visit us at www.pegalisanderickson.com . For health news you can use follow us on Twitter and Facebook .

The Center for Children, Families and the Law was established in 2001 in response to the urgent need for more effective representation for children and families in crisis. It is led by A. Gail Prudenti, retired New York State Chief Administrative Judge. Through programs such as their Youth Advocacy Clinic, Juvenile Justice Practicum, community service, public-policy projects and research, students learn how their studies apply in society, and simultaneously make a difference to children and families in crisis.

When a doctor makes a mistake, it sometimes can result in a medical malpractice claim for an injury to the patient. Medical malpractice occurs whenever a health care provider is negligent (makes a mistake) in performing his or her duties and that negligence injures a patient. If you have been hurt by something a doctor, nurse, hospital, or pharmacy did or failed to do, contact a medical malpractice lawyer right away. Keep reading to learn more.

Serious Injury

Medical malpractice often involves serious injury. While some physician errors are not noteworthy, many instances of medical negligence result in severe health conditions—or even death. For example, physician mistakes during childbirth can result in physical injuries at birth like Erb’s palsy (nerve damage to the arm). Doctors sometimes operate on the wrong body part, give a patient the incorrect type of blood, leave surgical instruments in bodies, and prescribe the wrong medicine or the wrong amount of medicine.

Causal Link

Doctors make mistakes every day, just like everybody else. For a physician’s mistake to have legal effect, it must be the cause of a patient’s injury. For example, medical malpractice does not occur if a doctor prescribes the incorrect medication to treat a patient’s cancer, and the patient breaks her ankle on the way to pick up the medicine. For personal injury lawyers to seek compensation, they must be able to conclusively link a physician’s error to the exact injury that resulted.

Proper Compensation

When physicians commit malpractice, the injured parties are compensated. As your medical malpractice attorney will advise you, you can be paid financial damages for any injury or hardship resulting from that injury. Damages often include medical bills, missed time from work, loss of future compensation, and pain and suffering.

If you have been hurt because of a health care provider’s negligence, contact Pegalis & Erickson. Our malpractice law firm on Long Island, New York has experience successfully advocating for patients’ rights to compensation. To speak to a New York medical malpractice lawyer about your case, call (516) 684-2900 today.

In April of 2016, you can join others around the world in recognizing Cesarean Awareness Month. This public awareness campaign was launched for the purpose of educating families about cesarean sections, or C-sections. A C-section is a type of surgery that may be performed when it is considered unsafe for a mother to deliver a child vaginally. If a doctor fails to perform a C-section when required, it can result in serious harm. If your doctor delayed in performing a c-section or failed to perform a c-section and your baby has been injured consider talking to a medical malpractice lawyer.

Failure to Perform a C-Section

It is the responsibility of all medical professionals who are assisting in a birth to recognize the signs of distress that indicate that a C-section may be necessary. In some medical negligence cases, doctors are found to be negligent for failing to perform cesarean sections when there were clear indications of fetal distress. If this results in injury to either the mother or the child, there may be found to have been negligent.

Medical Malpractice in Performing C-Sections

If a doctor performs a C-section and causes harm to either the mother or the child through negligence, they may be charged with medical malpractice. Some of the most common forms of negligence include waiting too long to perform the C-section because of failure to monitor the patient, making avoidable mistakes during the procedure, which can damage the mother and her ability to have future children, and failing to provide the fetus with enough oxygen during the procedure, causing brain damage.

The medical negligence lawyers at Pegalis & Erickson, LLC are devoted to helping families find the answers they deserve. If you feel that the obstetrics staff failed to perform a C-section when it was indicated, or you were harmed during the performance of a C-section, please call us today at (516) 684-2900. A medical malpractice attorney in Long Island, New York, will review your case and help you consider your legal options. Attorney Advertising

A malpractice law firm on Long Island, New York, regularly handles claims of medical malpractice stemming from a delayed diagnosis. A delayed diabetes diagnosis involves identifying the disease too late, which can have adverse consequences for a patient’s health.

When diabetes is diagnosed too late to properly treat the illness and its symptoms, the situation can constitute medical malpractice. As a New York medical malpractice lawyer knows, diabetes sufferers can languish with the disease for an average of nine to 12 years before it is diagnosed. Half of diabetes patients develop serious complications, including blindness, amputation, and kidney failure, because of medical negligence or medication errors stemming from their failure to timely diagnose. Untreated diabetes also provokes lesser symptoms such as increased thirst, weight loss and blurred vision.

If you or a loved one wants to learn more about medical malpractice or determine if you have a legal claim, contact the Long Island, New York office of Pegalis & Erickson today. Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys will speak to you at no cost about your potential case. Call (516) 684-2900 today.

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; have you scheduled your colon cancer screening? Medical malpractice sometimes results from a doctor’s failure to properly administer or interpret a test, including a screening for cancer. Colon cancer screenings are essential for diagnosing the disease before it progresses—and is more receptive to treatment.

A medical malpractice lawyer often handles cases from patients whose cancer tests were not read correctly, resulting in a misdiagnosis. Of course, just like medication errors, misdiagnosed cancer constitutes medical negligence. When performed properly, colon cancer screenings look at the structure of the colon itself to test for any abnormal areas. The cancer screening is either performed with a scope inserted into the rectum or with special imaging tests. Screening is so important because polyps that are discovered before they become cancerous are relatively easy to remove. Removing the polyps may prevent colorectal cancer from developing later on.

If you have suffered an injury due to a doctor’s medical negligence, the malpractice law firm of Pegalis & Erickson is here for you. Our experienced medical negligence lawyers work tirelessly to ensure patients get the care they deserve. Call our medical malpractice lawyers near Long Island, New York today at (516) 684-2900.

As a birth injury lawyer knows all too well, birth injuries are devastating events for any parent. When an infant’s injury is the result of a healthcare provider’s medical malpractice, the situation can seem overwhelming. Instead of quietly listening when a doctor claims your baby’s injury was simply fate, contact a birth injury lawyer to find out if you have a claim against your doctor or hospital. Continue reading to learn why the mother’s size, an abnormal birth position, or premature delivery can put a newborn at risk for birth injury.

Maternal Size

While medical malpractice is never the patient’s fault, it helps to be informed about certain risk factors for birth injuries. For example, if the mother has anatomical abnormalities, there is a higher chance that her baby may be injured during the delivery process. One such abnormality is called cephalopelvic disproportion. As a birth injury lawyer will advise you, this condition means the mother’s pelvis is not appropriately shaped for vaginal birth and her physician should discuss plans to perform a c-section.

Abnormal Position

Birth injuries sometimes result because a baby is not in the correct position for delivery. A doctor’s failure to determine the baby’s position prior to labor can result in medical negligence. Your doctor should know which position your baby is in at least a week ahead of the due date. If a baby is breech or another abnormal position, a C-section can prevent birth injuries and complications.

Premature Delivery

Infants born before 37 weeks gestation face a higher risk for birth injuries. If your physician believes you are at risk for premature birth, he or she must recommend certain precautions which can include bed rest until the baby can be safely delivered. Common birth injuries associated with premature delivery include respiratory /lung issues and injury to the brain.

If you or a loved one has an infant whom you believe suffered a birth injury, it is imperative that you speak to a qualified birth injury lawyer near Long Island, New York as soon as possible. Call Pegalis & Erickson at (516) 684-2900. Attorney Advertising

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